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Bendigo, Victoria

Air conditioning and heating in BendigoOne system that copes with January and July.

An installer for Bendigo

Licence-checked installers in Bendigo who specialise in your kind of job see it, and the one who takes it calls you to quote.

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  • Only the installer who takes your job gets your details

Bendigo needs proper heating and proper cooling. Summer days above 35 degrees are common, and Bendigo drops below zero on an average of 26.1 days a year. For most homes here, that points to a reverse cycle system chosen for the frosty mornings as much as the hot afternoons.

What's different about Bendigo

Hot, dry summer afternoons

Bureau of Meteorology averages for Bendigo Airport (1991 to 2020) put the January mean maximum at 30.2 degrees and February at 29.6. The airport's hottest day on record is 45.9 degrees. January afternoons average 30% relative humidity, so it's a dry heat.

Frost on winter and spring mornings

July's mean minimum at the airport is 2.7 degrees and the record low is -5.5. Frosts are common through winter and spring, although Bendigo's frequent cloud cover keeps some of them away.

Climate zone 6, like Melbourne

The National Construction Code places Bendigo in climate zone 6, mild temperate, the same zone as Melbourne and Geelong. Shepparton, Echuca and Mildura sit in zone 4, with hotter, drier summers.

Nearly all detached houses

At the 2021 Census, 91.4% of occupied homes in Greater Bendigo were separate houses, 7.1% were semi-detached, terrace or townhouses and 0.9% were flats or apartments. The city also has older terrace houses, usually in short runs.

Plenty of renters

26.9% of Greater Bendigo households were renting at the 2021 Census, so Victoria's rental heating and cooling standards reach a lot of local homes.

Which jobs do Bendigo homes usually need?

A reverse cycle split for the living area. It's the simplest way to cover both seasons in the room you use most, and Solar Victoria says it's about a third of the cost of an electric heater to run in the same space. Our Bendigo split system page covers sizing and placement.

Ducted for the whole house. With so many detached houses, there's often a roof space for ducts. The ACT Government's guide points homes above 180sqm towards ducted or multi-head systems.

Decisions about ageing gas heating. You can keep servicing a gas ducted heater, add cooling to the same ducts where the heater is compatible, or move to reverse cycle. If you own the home, the choice is yours: DEECA says there's no requirement for existing homes to go electric.

Older terraces. A terrace in a short run has neighbours on both sides. Victoria's noise rules say a split on heat mustn't be heard inside a neighbour's habitable room after 10pm on weekdays, so the outdoor unit's spot needs real thought.

Will reverse cycle keep up on a frosty morning?

Yes, if it's sized for the job. The ACT Government's guide says good systems keep working at -10 degrees outside, colder than anything Bendigo Airport has recorded.

Expect the odd pause. Mitsubishi Electric says heating can stop for about 10 minutes while the outdoor unit defrosts on cold, damp mornings, and the white vapour coming off it then is the defrost at work, not smoke.

What you can sort yourself, and what needs a licence

You can

  • Clean the filters on your manual's schedule, with the power off first.
  • Keep leaves and stored bits and pieces away from the outdoor unit.
  • On a frosty morning, wait out a defrost pause before calling anyone.

Leave to a licensed installer

  • Sizing from a heat load on your rooms.
  • Anything involving the refrigerant, which needs an ARC licence.
  • Servicing a gas heater, which is a gasfitter's job.

Renting or letting in Bendigo

Every Victorian rental needs a fixed heater in good working order in the main living area. From 1 March 2027, if that heater permanently fails and can't be repaired, the replacement has to be energy efficient electric, such as a reverse cycle unit rated 2 stars or more for heating. A working gas heater can stay.

Cooling becomes a requirement from 1 March 2027 for new or month-to-month agreements, and from 1 July 2030 for every rental. Our Victorian rental heating rules guide has the detail.

Who can do the work in Bendigo?

In Victoria, installing a reverse cycle air conditioner is plumbing work: the installer needs Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) registration and an Australian Refrigeration Council licence, and new wiring needs a Registered Electrical Contractor. You should get a Certificate of Electrical Safety and a plumbing compliance certificate at the end.

Tell us the job and your postcode. Where we have licence-checked installers near Bendigo who specialise in that kind of work, they can see it, and only the one who takes it gets your contact details. If nobody around Bendigo takes it within 48 hours, installers elsewhere in Victoria may see it too.

What we'd do

If we lived in Bendigo

We'd start with a reverse cycle split in the room we use most, sized from a heat load and picked as much on its heating as its cooling. For a whole detached house with a decent roof space, we'd get a ducted specialist to talk through zones before choosing anything. And we wouldn't pull out a gas heater that's working well because of the headlines: nothing in Victoria's rules makes an owner do that.

What this work looks like

Photos from real jobs in Melbourne, to show what the work looks like. They aren't from an installer near you.

A slimline ducted outdoor unit in a side passage
A slimline ducted outdoor unit in a side passage. Jul 2023. A job in Melbourne.
A ducted outdoor unit beside a gas ducted heater
A ducted outdoor unit beside a gas ducted heater. Jul 2023. A job in Melbourne.
Commercial rooftop condensers and pipe runs
Commercial rooftop condensers and pipe runs. May 2023. A job in Melbourne.

More job photos

Heating and cooling jobs in Bendigo

Questions people ask

Is reverse cycle enough to heat a Bendigo house?
For most homes, yes, if it's sized from a heat load and chosen on its heating figures. You'll get the occasional short pause on frosty mornings while the outdoor unit defrosts.
Do I have to replace my gas heater?
Not if you own the home. In a rental, the change only applies from 1 March 2027, and only when the main living area heater fails for good.
Can I get a VEU discount in Bendigo?
Possibly. Victorian Energy Upgrades is voluntary and delivered by accredited private providers, and its air conditioner categories only cover systems that both heat and cool. Your installer can tell you whether they work with an accredited provider. Our VEU guide explains the rest.
How do I check a Bendigo installer's licence?
Look up their ARC licence on the ARC's Look for the Tick check, and check the electrician on Energy Safe Victoria's ESVConnect. The business's RTA number, starting with AU, belongs on the quote.

Ready for the right installer to take a look in Bendigo?

Your postcode and three quick questions. Licence-checked local installers who specialise in your kind of job see it, and the one who takes it gets in touch to quote.

Free for you. Installers pay us for each job we pass on.

Read next

  1. 01Split system installation in BendigoSizing and placing a split for Bendigo's climate, who can legally install it, and what to ask for.
  2. 02Air conditioning service in BendigoWhen to book a service in Bendigo, what it should check, and who's licensed to touch the refrigerant.
  3. 03Reverse cycle air conditioningHow reverse cycle heats and cools, which type suits your home, and what to check for winter.
  4. 04Reverse cycle or gas heating?Efficiency, cold mornings, carbon monoxide and the Victorian gas rules, in plain terms.
  5. 05Victorian rental heating and cooling rulesWhat a rental's heater and cooler must be now and from 1 March 2027, and what can stay.
  6. 06Ducted air conditioningWhen ducted reverse cycle suits your home, what the install involves and what to check on the quote.

Where this information comes from

We don't publish prices. Every home is different, so an installer's written quote is the only real number. How we write and check these pages.

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